Insurance Tips For New, Young Learner Drivers

Before driving any vehicle, make sure that it has cover for your use or that your own insurance gives you adequate cover.
You MUST NOT drive a vehicle without insurance.

If you're a young driver looking to insure your first car, you probably already know that you face some of the highest car insurance premiums.
A new car driver from Manchester, who is 27 years old, was quoted £1.2 MILLION to insure a ten-year-old Corsa worth just £1,400
It is even more shocked that it was suggested he could pay in instalments if he could not afford the total upfront - with a first payment of £233,000 followed by 10 months at £104,000 per month.

Whilst car insurance for new drivers is high, after your first year on the road you can expect your premium to drop substantially. To make the most out of this first year boost make sure you remember to shop around and not just renew your car insurance with your existing provider. Auto renewals cost British motorists millions in additional premium costs every year, so make sure you shop around and bag yourself a saving.

With a Collingwood Learner Driver Insurance policy you can drive almost any car (subject to eligibility), when you need it from 7 days - 24 weeks durations (Initial policy must be a minimum of 28 days. 7 day policy available for additional purchases).
Drive your parents, grandparents, friends or relatives car without any risk to their insurance. Just take out a policy for each vehicle when you need it.More Information

Looking for other Car Insurance?iGO4 insurance has been put together with you, the customer, in mind,
offering affordable cover that can be tailored to your individual needs.

Types of Car Insurance

Third Party:
This is the most basic insurance type, and is the minimum coverage that allows you to drive legally. Any damage you do to a ‘third party’, ie someone or something that is NOT YOU or YOUR CAR is covered, but for a pittance extra you can get Third Party Fire and Theft (see below). All other policies retain this Third Party component as their basis.

Third Party Fire and Theft:
Third Party Fire and Theft (TPFT) is the basic insurance package favoured by younger learner drivers on their first or second provisional licence, and people who prefer not to pay for fully comprehensive insurance. You are – obviously – insured for ‘Fire’ and ‘Theft’, ie if your car ‘catches’ fire or is stolen. Third Party means that your passengers are covered, and any people, property or cars that you might hit are also covered. Your car is NOT covered. Either are YOU. TPFT is the cheapest way of building up your No Claims Bonus before changing over to the significantly more expensive ‘fully comprehensive’.

Fully Comprehensive Insurance:
This is the ultimate in insurance, adding you and your car to the TPFT package. Thus Fully Comprehensive Insurance (FCI), or "full comp" is also more expensive. Having a full driving licence (and having it for more than two years) helps keep premiums
down.

Why is Car Insurance for New Drivers so expensive?

Insurance companies know that new drivers are a bigger insurance risk than any other motoring group and here are the facts to prove it:-

As a new driver, you are more likely to have an accident in the first year after passing your test than at any other time in your motoring career.
Per mile of driving, the risk of an accident involving injury or death is about seven times greater for 17-20 years old than for those aged 40 or over.
Drivers under 21 are involved in 15% of all accident deaths.
New drivers make up just 10% of licence holders, but are involved in 29% of accidents.

Because of these factors insurance premiums are very high for the new driver. However there are ways to cut your insurance premium

Follow these TEN tips to reduce your premium.

TIP ONE
Young and newly qualified drivers can boost their no-claims bonus by taking an additional test
calledPass Plus. Some companies will credit people who have passed Pass Plus with an
extra year's no claims bonus. Always check to see if your own insurance offers a Pass Plus discount.

Example Case
Ray age 18, passed his test six months ago and wants to buy his first car. His age and lack of
experience are likely to go against him when he's looking for insurance.
To help bring the costs down, Ray could take his Pass Plus exam. Although this would cost him
around £140, he could easily save more than that on his first year's insurance alone.
How much could Ray save? It would normally cost Ray £3700 for fully comprehensive cover on
his Ford Escort 1.4 LX. By taking the Pass Plus test, Ray could reduce this to £3500, a
saving of £200.

TIP TWO
Drivers who don't have full no-claims bonus can build their bonus up quicker with a policy from
some companies called Bonus Accelerator. This policy runs for 10 months rather than the usual 12. At
the end of those 10 months, provided no "fault" claims have been made, you get a full year's
no claims bonus. So, somebody starting out with zero no-claims can build up to the
maximum five years no-claims bonus in just four years. Be Careful if you choose this scheme You usually have to stay with the same insurance company throughout, in order to build up your maximum no-claims bonus. Companies don't usually allow you to carry a 10 months policy over from one company to another, so please check before you sign up for this type of scheme.

TIP THREE
Buy a smaller-engined car.
If insuring your prospective car is proving too expensive, consider buying a car with a smaller engine. Remember that buying a cheaper car will not make a huge difference to your premiums.
If you or your spouse buy a second car, you may be able to get an introductory bonus on the
new car. This means that your insurer may give you the same no-claims bonus on the second
car as you have on the first, provided you insure both cars with the same company. It is best
to check this with your insurer first because not all companies offer this facility, and the
conditions for introductory bonus vary between companies.

TIP FOUR
Taking a higher Voluntary excess ( The amount of money you have to pay the insurance company if you have to make a claim) than the standard £100 could give you a substantial discount on their
premium.

TIP FIVE Declare your mileage! Telling your insurer how many miles you do, especially if it is below average,
they do in a year, and simply let the salesperson plug in an average of, say, 12,000 miles. That's 230
miles a week. If you do less than that, you could be missing out on potential savings by not letting
your insurer know.

TIP SIX
Similarly, if you don't use your car to travel to work, let your insurer know. You may be paying for
cover you don't need.

TIP SEVEN
If you have access to a garage or driveway at night, use them. Using off street parking, rather than
leaving your car on the street will attract a discount with most insurers.

TIP EIGHT
Insurers prefer prevention rather than claims, so vehicles fitted with an engine immobiliser or alarm
may qualify for a discount. The devices which qualify for a discount vary from insurer to insurer, so
make sure you check before getting any device fitted.

TIP NINE
Get a ‘new’ quote from your existing insurer.
Often applying to your existing insurer as a new customer produces a cheaper price than its renewal quote. Insurers put out more competitive prices to attract new customers so simply start again and you could be better off.

TIP TEN Go and get a on-line quotation from the 2pass Insurance Providers
We recommend you get as many quotes as you can to make sure you get the right insurance for your circumstances. Compare car insurance

The following is a list of excuses compiled from insurance
companies all over the world.

1) Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I
don't have.
2) The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its
intentions.
3) I thought my window was down but found that it was up when I put my
hand through it.
4) I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
5) A truck backed through my windshield and into my wife's face.
6) A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
7) The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times
before I hit him.
8) I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law,
and headed over the embankment.
9) In my attempt to kill a fly I drove into a telephone pole.
10) I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel
and had an accident.
11) I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my U-joint
gave way causing me to have an accident.
12) To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the
pedestrian.
13) My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle.
14) An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.
15) I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of
the road when I struck him.
16) The pedestrian had no idea which way to run, so I ran over him.
17) I saw a slow-moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the
hood of my car.
18) The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car
with a big mouth.
19) I was thrown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a
ditch by some stray cows.
20) The telephone pole was approaching, I was attempting to swerve out
of its way, when it struck my front end.